The man arrested and charged with the 2017 murder of Burnaby teen Marrisa Shen arrived in Canada as a refugee from Syria just months before she was killed, say police.
Ibrahim Ali, 28, was arrested without incident Friday in Burnaby, where he lives, and later charged with first-degree murder, according to the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
Ali did not appear to know Shen, and Shen did not know Ali, said Supt. Donna Richardson, the officer in charge of IHIT. Police believed from the start that the murder had been random and Richardson said investigators still hold that belief.
Shen was reported missing after she failed to return home by 11 p.m. on July 18, 2017. Police launched a search, using GPS to track her phone. The 13-year-old girls body was found in a wooded area in Burnabys Central Park early the next morning.
Investigators became aware of Ali two weeks ago, Richardson said. By that time they had identified and eliminated more 2,000 persons of interest. Ali was not known to police and he does not have a criminal record. Richardson would not say how police identified him as a suspect.
Ali is a Syrian national and a permanent resident of Canada who came to the country 17 months ago, Richardson said. She did not know whether he was a privately-sponsored or government-assisted refugee, but believed he has family in Burnaby and was employed.
A law enforcement source who was not authorized to speak publicly said IHIT has asked the Canada Border Services Agency for more information about Ali. That source confirmed Ali did not arrive at a port of entry in Canada to claim asylum. A spokeswoman for the Immigration and Refugee Board was unable to find records of any public proceedings in which Ali was involved.
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